Former Spouses
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Spoilers up to "The Only Light in the Darkness". Melinda should have realized that working with her ex-husband was a bad idea, but maybe they can grab onto a second chance.


**I don't own SHIELD and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

_Author's Note_: While I absolutely love the "Phil is Melinda's ex-husband" theory, I don't think it's going to be true. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Melinda and Phil hadn't wanted to end their marriage, but they had drifted apart. Work became more important to them than working on the relationship. So he hadn't put up much of a fight when she handed him the divorce papers, something he regretted for the rest of his life.

Melinda thought she'd be okay working with her ex-husband, but she hadn't anticipated how hard it would be. She still loved him, and it hurt that he was so furious with her. So she decided to try and get some answers for him so he'd know how he had been resurrected – Phil deserved to know the truth. Needless to say, she hadn't expected the hug once she walked through the door. "What is going on?"

"I missed you, and I am so sorry," Coulson told his ex-wife.

"Uh, thanks? What happened when I was gone?" She stared at him in confusion after they pulled apart. Something must have for Phil to be acting like this.

"A lot. Ward's Hydra, but he's on our side now."

She blinked at him. "What."

"Eh, it's a long story that we can explain later." They didn't fully trust Ward at the moment, but they'd get there eventually. And Coulson was more worried about Melinda at the moment. He grabbed her hand and led her to another part of the Bus. She was shocked yet again when Skye jumped up and pulled her in for a hug.

"I don't understand why this keeps happening," Melinda mumbled.

Skye laughed. "Sorry, thought you were dead for a few hours."

Melinda looked towards Ward after Skye moved her head in his direction. He looked injured – even more than he did before she left – and guilty. "I'm looking forward to hearing this supposedly long day," she told him.

He nodded. "Sounds fine with me." They all cringed at the hoarseness of his voice, but Melinda didn't have to wait very long for something else to happen. Her ex-husband grabbed her hand again and walked with her to his room.

He let go of her hand and turned around. "I have to apologize to you. I was acting like a jerk to you and you didn't deserve it. I'm sorry, Melinda. I would promise not to hurt you again, but you know what I'm like. It's guaranteed to happen again so I apologize in advance for fucking up."

Despite not wanting to, she snorted. "Thank you for apologizing. I accept." Melinda didn't know what they were still doing in his room, but she wasn't about to complain.

Coulson bit his lip as he warred with himself about what to do next. He finally decided to go for it. "I still love you."

Melinda's eyes widened and she gasped. "You do?"

"Yeah, of course I do. I was an idiot to let you go, to sign the divorce papers. Seeing Audrey again made me realize that I needed to forgive you. She's moved on. And I did love her, but she's moved on and is happy – I can't ruin that. But I've never stopped loving you, and I want to try again."

She laughed and kissed him. "I've never stopped loving you. I never should have left, but I panicked. And I have to tell you, working with my ex-husband could have ended horribly but I'm glad it didn't."

Coulson grinned and kissed her again. Melinda grabbed onto his suit and refused to let go as they made out for a few minutes. She pushed him down on the bed and the two of them began to make up for lost time. "Marry me?" he questioned later.

"What?" She pulled back and stared at him, shocked he had even said those words.

"We probably have a lot to talk about, but I want you to be my wife again. We almost lost everything – I literally died – and who knows what's going to happen tomorrow? We can make a quick stop in Vegas and 'renew' our vows. What do you say?" He stared at her in anticipation.

Melinda didn't even have to think about it. "Yes! It's probably extremely stupid to agree so fast, but you're right. We can't waste any more time. We could die tomorrow."

"I really hope not," he quipped.

She playfully swatted him. "I'll set a new course and then we can drop the bomb on the others."

"I can't wait to see the looks on their faces." Coulson hoped one of them was drinking something so they'd spit it out. He had always wanted to elicit that reaction from someone – it sounded like fun.

"Why have we turned around?" Trip asked once Melinda joined the rest of them.

Coulson and Melinda exchanged playful smirks. "We're going to Vegas and getting remarried." And then they sat back and waited for the team's shocked reactions.

"Excuse me, what?" Fitz asked as Skye did exactly what Coulson wanted and spit out her water.

"The fuck?" she asked.

"Remarried?" Ward was the only one who had picked up on the wording.

Melinda took a deep breath. "We were married a long time ago, but split up. And recent events have made Phil and I realize that we still love each other. We don't want something to happen without giving us another chance so that is exactly what we're doing."

Coulson picked up her hand and kissed it. Skye and Simmons melted. "That is adorable. Are we going to be your bridesmaids?" Simmons had never been in a wedding before, but it sounded exciting.

"Sure, I guess."

"We're your best men then, sir?" Fitz questioned.

"Sure, why not." Last time, they had eloped with no witnesses and had kept quiet about their wedding for months. This was more exciting. Plus, SHIELD no longer existed so fraternization rules didn't apply now.

Skye started laughing and looked at Ward. "You fucked Coulson's ex-wife!"

The look of horror on Ward's face sent them all into giggles. "So that's another point against me," he mumbled.

"He's not mad – we were apart at that time," Melinda assured him.

"We were free to be with whoever we pleased. Besides, I'm angrier with you about more important things." Coulson knew he'd forgive Ward eventually, but that day wasn't today. He'd have to earn their trust back – saving Skye had gone a long way towards regaining it, however.

"Understood." Ward sunk into his chair and looked haunted again, something that really didn't surprise them.

"So can I hear this long story finally?" Melinda couldn't stand the suspense anymore. True to their word, it was a long story and she was furious with Ward afterwards, but she would try to forgive him (like Skye clearly had) eventually. She decided to keep an eye on him for a long time.

When they landed, Skye and Simmons rushed Melinda to a gift shop to find a dress – they insisted she wear one, even when she tried telling them she was fine with what she was wearing.

"Are you nervous?" Trip asked Coulson while they waited for the three women to finish shopping.

Coulson shook his head. "Honestly? No. I'm marrying the love of my life again. I'm actually pretty excited."

"Congratulations." Ward nervously smiled at him.

"Thanks."

"Wait, you don't have rings. Should we make a quick stop at a jewelry store?" Fitz didn't want to leave again – he was so tired of being on the run – but rings were important.

"I still have my ring, and I'm sure Melinda has hers. We'll just hand them the other when we're exchanging vows. We should have talked about that before, but it's okay." Coulson couldn't stop smiling and his happiness was infectious. And when Melinda came out wearing her dress, he gasped. "You look beautiful, Mel."

She smiled. "Really? Skye and Simmons insisted I wear it, but I didn't want to."

"It's your wedding day – again – and you deserve to look beautiful," Simmons chimed in.

"Yeah, it's important!" Skye grinned at them, thrilled that Coulson and May had worked things out.

"You heard the kids. Let's go get married again, Melinda May."

"I'm right behind you, Philip."

"I love it when you call me that." He winked at her suggestively.

Skye and Simmons melted again, sighing. "So gross but so adorable at the same time," Skye whispered.

"We can hear you!" Melinda called back as she and Coulson started walking towards the chapel.

The others quickly followed behind them. "I never expected to be attending a wedding in the middle of Hydra causing trouble," Trip mumbled to Fitz.

"Right there with you," Fitz replied.

Much to everyone's delight, Elvis was officiating the wedding (even Ward, still having issues over his own actions, couldn't stop laughing at the site). "Well, this isn't how I pictured remarrying you," Melinda laughed.

"Well, it's a story we'll always have." Coulson grinned at her.

The two quickly exchanged vows and sealed the deal by kissing. Skye teared up. "We're totally going to have to avoid the Bus so they can have newlywed sex, but this was unexpectedly adorable."

"Congratulations." Simmons pulled the two newlyweds in for a quick hug and went to go to talk to Skye.

Coulson and Melinda walked to the buffet hand-in-hand. They wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but the kids had complained about being hungry and wanting to eat real food.

Melinda leaned against her husband as soon as they sat down and watched the others. "This is our family and no one's going to fuck with it."

"We won't let them," he vowed before kissing her.

Phil and Melinda had gotten the second chance they so desperately craved. With the rest of the team's help, they were sure SHIELD would be running the show again quite soon. And they couldn't wait to celebrate their remarriage (in privacy) some more.


End file.
